


Exhaustion

by RicochetRomance



Series: My Grandmaster [6]
Category: Pathfinder (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: M/M, Pathfinder Society, Roleplaying Character, Selfish Torch, Short, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 23:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12592604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RicochetRomance/pseuds/RicochetRomance
Summary: Since when did he care about what Orion liked or disliked? Since when was this Orion's "home"? Torch wasn't entirely sure - the process of developing feelings for the Undine had been gradual.---In which Orion has bizarre sleeping habits, and his Grandmaster isn't about to complain.





	Exhaustion

**Author's Note:**

> Originally shared with my Pathfinder RPG group via Google Doc, cross-posting here to share it with a larger audience. 
> 
> Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10N-ZhQX6S0vhdLiC80I_CbjBXGTEkr9rfKAuG3ENj-g/edit?usp=sharing

The Puddles district was never truly asleep, but tonight, Grandmaster Torch was an exception. That is, until the sound of fumbling keys and a protesting lock woke him up.

The door opened halfway, and an exhausted-looking Orion slipped inside. He unshouldered his backpack and set it carefully on the floor near the workbench, sighing softly.

"So," Torch asked conversationally, "how was the mission?"

Startled, Orion jumped at least a foot in the air, collected himself, and turned to look sheepishly at his Grandmaster, who was smirking slightly.

"Tiring," the Undine replied honestly. "I was chased halfway across the Mwangi Expanse by a grumpy Tyrannosaur."

Torch blinked at that. Trust Orion to relate the strangest part of his experience as a painfully abrupt non-sequitur. 

"Dinosaurs are a common risk on jungle missions." He finally agreed. His tone was matter-of-fact, masking his worry. Orion could have died - he had nowhere near the combat prowess required to fell a Tyrannosaurus. One misstep during that chase, and the Undine wouldn't be standing here now. 

Orion frowned, sensing what Torch was trying to hide. He didn't want his Grandmaster to worry, but that worry was a sign of the feelings that they shared. 

Emptying his pockets of alchemical notions, Orion laid them in their set places on the workbench, feeling the older man's gaze on his back.

"Did you succeed?" The question was genuinely interested.

"Hmm... yes?" The Undine replied. Technically, he'd retrieved the artifact that he'd been sent to find. However, until the Society evaluated his mission report, he wouldn't know for certain if this was considered a success.

Opening his catfish-mouth in a small yawn, Orion walked over to the bath in which Torch lay. Before any complaints could be made, he climbed smoothly in, laying himself halfway on top of the Grandmaster's reclining form.

Torch rolled his eyes as Orion settled on top of him, the young man completely submerging himself beneath the aloe-infused water.

Undines were not Gillmen - they did not dehydrate when away from water for prolonged periods. However, Orion was not a typical Undine. A rare amphibious example, he was happiest and most comfortable when in water... Even if it was Torch's bathwater.

Of course, for Orion, comfort meant rest, and rest meant sleep. The Grandmaster gave a mildly exasperated grin as he watched Orion's chest take on the measured rise and fall of sleep, breathing water as easily as he did air.

"You're going to ruin your vest." Torch grumbled softly, unwilling to wake the young man. It was true - leather armour didn't tend to agree with being submerged in water, especially not overnight.

His response was a soft hum, and Orion shifted slightly in his sleep, pulling himself further on top of the Grandmaster.

Torch rolled his eyes. Tomorrow, Orion would have a miniature panic attack when he woke in ruined armour, as if he didn't know full well that Torch would buy him a new vest. Leather was cheap, but an Undine blanket was a rare luxury.

It was at that point that Torch heard heavy footsteps in the hall, and one of his half-Orc guards stuck his head into the room.

"Sir, I heard noises. Are you-"

"I'm fine," the Grandmaster replied with an impatient sigh. Given what he paid his guards, this was frankly unacceptable - a response seven minutes after the fact. "Orion's home."

The half-Orc looked at Orion's sleeping form in the tub and shrugged. "All right, then." Not even bothering to ask to be dismissed, the guard left the room.

Torch sighed. His guards needed a lecture, a pay cut, and perhaps a reminder of exactly how painful his displeasure could be. This level of incompetence was just absurd.

Looking down at Orion, he reminded himself to wait on that painful little lecture until the Undine wasn't around. Orion tended to dislike violence.

Since when did he care about what Orion liked or disliked? Since when was this Orion's "home"? Torch wasn't entirely sure - the process of developing feelings for the Undine had been gradual.

However it had happened, the affection that Orion had felt for Torch from the very start was now a reciprocal arrangement, and honestly, neither man was complaining. 

Much.

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all feedback is appreciated.


End file.
